Poetry
by suburbs
Summary: Shane hates poetry, which Caitlyn thinks is pretty funny. For LaPaige's challenge.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: I have meant to try La Paige's challenge, but I have had a really hard time picking a prompt from the list (too many great ideas). So I asked PurpleAngel87 (who has some fantastic responses to the challenge if you haven't read them) to pick one prompt and a character for me. She gave me three options – and I picked #65 poetry and Shane. The result was…odd?_

_Dedication: To PurpleAngel87 for helping me out and being a consistently supportive reviewer._

"Stupid teacher," Shane mumbled. "Why the hell do I need to know this?"

Caitlyn chuckled at the sight of Shane slumped over a textbook grumbling to himself. "What's the matter, Sunshine?"

Shane glared at her, deciding to ignore the nickname. "For my final English project I have to read these three dumb poems and write a paper comparing and contrasting them."

"And the problem is?" Caitlyn asked.

"Poetry is lame," Shane said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Caitlyn burst out laughing.

"What's so funny Gellar?"

Caitlyn stopped laughing and looked incredulously at Shane. "You're kidding, right? How can you hate poetry? You're a poet, Shane."

He looked insulted. "I'm not a poet. Poets are whiney wimps who wear frilly shirts and like to talk about their feelings and stuff."

"Are you honestly that dumb?" Caitlyn asked.

"I'm not a poet," Shane insisted stubbornly.

Caitlyn sighed. "Shane, songs are poems put to music. You write songs, therefore you are a poet."

Shane opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. He glanced down at the poems on the page in front of him and his eyes went wide. "Crap," he whispered. After a moment, he glared at Caitlyn. "I hate you. You know that, right?"

"We all know you have the whiney part down." Caitlyn joked. "Should I go buy you some frilly shirts?"

"Shut up, Gellar. My life sucks enough right now without you mocking me."

Caitlyn looked confused. "But we always mock each other. It's the basis of our friendship."

"Whatever. Could you go find someone else to be friends with right now? I have to finish this paper by tomorrow or I can't go to camp," Shane snapped.

Caitlyn looked carefully at Shane, who had gone back to staring at the page in front of him, his frustration obvious. Sighing, she pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked grumpily.

"Shut up, Gray," Caitlyn muttered as she read the poems. "I'm trying to help."

Shane sat quietly and watched her read. She narrowed her eyes as she concentrated. He smiled as he watched her bite her lower lip. She was sort of cute when she wasn't insulting him.

"Love," Caitlyn announced suddenly, catching him off guard.

"What?"

"The poems are all about different types of love – the love of a parent for a child, a wife for her husband, and some poor guy who is in love with someone who he can't have," Caitlyn announced with confidence.

"Are you sure?"

Caitlyn motioned towards the page. "Go back and read each one carefully. You'll see it," she assured him. Shane looked doubtful, but he went back and looked again. There it was, just as she had described it.

He looked up at her in wonder. "You're amazing!"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I know. Think you got it now?"

He nodded and opened his laptop to start working. Caitlyn pushed back her chair and stood up.

"My work here is done, then. Good luck, Master Poet."

"Shut up, Gellar," Shane replied distractedly.

"Poet Laureate?"

"Go away!"

Caitlyn smiled as she left the room in search of Nate and Jason. Maybe they could help her think of some new ways to use this poetry thing against Shane. There were endless possibilities, and Caitlyn didn't want to waste any of them.


	2. Explode

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, Harry Potter, Frankenstein, or any of the Romantic poets._

_A/N: PurpleAngel87 also picked #69 explode. You sort of have to squint to find it in here. This is not what I originally intended to write, but it was what evolved. I apologize for the literary references and general lameness. Not my best work._

_Dedication: I wanted to write something for Loved-Invention who is being forced to rest and read lots of fanfiction this week. I hope you feel better soon!_

"Shane, the Audubon website said this preserve is amazing!" Jason said, bursting with excitement. His grin was infectious, and Caitlyn had no idea how Shane could still be arguing with him about it.

"I don't want to stop and look at birds," Shane growled. "I just want to get to camp!"

"Don't be such a grump, Percy," Caitlyn quipped. She had been calling him by the names of different dead poets for the past 15 hours, which she thought might have something to do with his attitude problem, but she was enjoying herself too much to stop. "It won't take too long, and you'll still be at camp before everyone else arrives."

"Stop calling me names," Shane snapped. He turned and whispered to Nate, "Who's Percy?"

Nate shrugged. "I don't know. Wasn't he a Harry Potter character?"

Shane looked dubious. "I'm pretty sure she's still harping on the poetry thing."

"Whatever. Just ask her."

"No way," Shane sulked. He didn't want to admit he had no idea who or what Caitlyn was talking about.

Nate rolled his eyes. "Caitlyn, Shane wants to know who the hell Percy is."

Caitlyn smirked. "Come on. I thought that one was pretty easy. Percy Shelley? Romantic poet married to the woman who wrote _Frankenstein_."

"You are Frankenstein," Shane retorted. He knew the insult was sort of juvenile, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment.

Caitlyn snorted. "Seriously, that's the best you could do? Frankenstein was the scientist. The big creepy guy was Frankenstein's monster." She grinned at him, "Unless you meant to call me a brilliant but morally questionable scientist."

"You're a nerd," Shane replied.

"I know," Caitlyn said happily. Glancing out of the bus window, she noticed a sign signaling their arrival at the bird sanctuary. "Oh look, we're here!"

At her announcement, both Jason and Shane looked ready to explode, but for different reasons.

"I can't wait!" Jason exclaimed. "And you're sure they're going to give us a private tour?" He asked Caitlyn.

She nodded. "I confirmed it this morning."

Shane glared at her. "I'm not going. I'll just stay here on the bus."

Nate, Jason and Caitlyn all looked at each other.

"Okay," Jason said as he grabbed his binoculars and North American bird guide.

"We'll see you later, then," Nate added.

Caitlyn just waved cheekily as she exited the bus. Shane sat frozen in shock. They were supposed to argue with him. He didn't really want to go, but he had planned on giving in after they begged him. And now he was stuck on the bus alone in the middle of nowhere.

Shane finally gave up trying to find something to amuse him on the bus and decided to just go walk around for awhile. He saw a cool looking bridge when he looked out the window, so he headed in that direction. He was startled to find Caitlyn sitting on a bench staring at the bridge.

"Why aren't you on the super-special bird tour?" Shane asked mockingly.

Caitlyn looked startled when she turned towards him. She gestured towards the bridge before saying, "I don't do foot bridges."

"Huh?"

Caitlyn sighed and spoke very slowly. "I don't like bridges."

Shane shook his head and scoffed. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What's there not to like – they get you from one place to another."

"I just don't like them, okay?"

"You weigh nothing; it's not like you're going to break the bridge or anything." Shane joked.

"I don't think I'm going to break the bridge," Caitlyn said testily.

"Well, what then? I know; you're afraid you're going to slip through the cracks. You're too skinny, but I think you'll be okay."

"You're an ass, Gray."

Shane somehow missed the edge that had crept into her voice. "Whatever. Just get up and walk across the stupid bridge, Gellar."

"I can't," Caitlyn said.

"It's not that difficult. Just put one foot in front of the other," Shane said dismissively.

"I can't, Shane." Caitlyn whispered. When he heard the fear in her voice, he finally understood that she was really serious. "I've tried to cross one of these before and I just freeze. I don't know why, but when I see the water rushing under me, I literally can't move."

Shane winced. He hadn't meant to upset her; he thought they were just doing their usual insulting banter. His heart sank as he saw tears well up in her eyes. Before he really thought it through, he turned his back to her.

"Here," he said.

"What?" Caitlyn asked in confusion.

"Climb on my back," Shane explained. "I'll carry you across."

Caitlyn eyed him with suspicion. "You're not going to take me half way across and leave me there, are you?"

"What! No!" Shane said indignantly. "I wouldn't do that."

Caitlyn gave him a searching look before deciding he was being honest. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Just get on," Shane replied.

Caitlyn stood up on the bench and leaned into Shane, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and easing her legs around his waist. She shifted her weight before leaning in and saying, "Okay go ahead and start."

She clutched at him and buried her face into his neck. Her hair was tickling him, and he noticed she smelled like jasmine. At that moment, Shane realized he might have made a tactical error. He had never been this physically close to Caitlyn, and for some reason his heart was pounding like it might explode out of his chest. He had no idea why he was reacting this way. It was just Caitlyn.

He took a deep breath, gently grasped her legs and began to walk across the bridge. He tried to focus on the water or the trees or anything other than the girl literally wrapped around his body.

"Do you really think I'm too thin?" Caitlyn asked quietly when they were half way across.

"Maybe a little. You're not dieting or anything stupid like that are you?"

"No, I'm not on a diet. I had the flu right before finals and lost some weight. I just haven't quite gained it back yet." Caitlyn replied.

Shane was surprised at how relieved he felt. When they had first picked her up at her house, he had been worried that maybe something was wrong with her. "Don't worry about it, Gellar. I'm sure Connie will make some cookies for you when we get to camp if you ask nicely."

Caitlyn chuckled. "And I suppose you're going to want me to share with you."

"Of course. I think my access to cookies was cut off when her daughter broke up with me." Shane paused before adding. "I really miss her cookies."

"I can't believe I'm friends with you," Caitlyn said jokingly.

"Speaking of Mitchie," Shane said. "What do you think is going to happen when we get to camp? Can we still hang out sometimes?"

Caitlyn sighed and the air brushed Shane's ear, making him shiver a little. "I don't know. I'll see how Mitchie reacts. I mean, she still talks to Jason and Nate sometimes, so maybe it will be okay. But she's my best friend, so you may have to make do without the pleasure of my company for the summer."

Shane frowned a little, finding he didn't like the idea of a summer without Caitlyn. He covered it by saying sarcastically, "A summer without you making fun of me? How will I ever survive?"

The two were so caught up in their conversation that they had somehow missed the fact that they were already across the bridge and well into the sanctuary.

"Shane, why are you carrying Caitlyn?" Jason asked. Shane was so startled that he almost dropped her.

"I was helping her across the bridge," he explained. Looking around he noticed that the bridge was several hundred feet back up the trail. "I'll just put her down now," he added sheepishly.

Caitlyn slid off his back and smiled shyly up at him. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, now we can all go on the tour together!" Jason exclaimed excitedly.

Shane groaned, but he didn't protest as Caitlyn took his hand and pulled him towards the guide.

"Come on, Byron. If you stop whining, I'll make sure to get you some cookies once we get to camp."


	3. Fire

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Tennyson. _

_A/N: This is the last of PurpleAngel87's prompts from the challenge (#64 fire), but I think I'm going to go pull a few more to finish up the story. This one is really short, but I wanted to post something when I got MissNata13's review. So Nata, this is for you!_

Shane was pretty sure his uncle was going to be mad at him for being late. Inspiration had hit right before he was supposed to leave for the Jam, and he had lost track of time. He could hear the music floating through the air, so he knew he had already missed at least the opening act. He was almost to the stage when he pulled up short. There was Caitlyn sitting alone on a bench with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring out at the lake.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Camp Fire Jam or Forest Fire Jam or Marshmallow Roast Jam or whatever lame name Brown came up with this week?" He asked her.

She turned her head before replying, "I'm not going."

"You afraid of fire too?" Shane joked.

"No, Tennyson, I'm not afraid of fire," Caitlyn replied. She had mostly given up on the poets, now just saving the names for moments when he was really annoying her. "I'm boycotting the event in general."

"Why?" Shane asked curiously. Caitlyn was usually an enthusiastic participant in camp activities. It was one of the things he loved to tease her about.

"Tess" she replied simply.

"Wait, I thought Tess had 'changed'," Shane used air quotes to emphasize the last word. "I specifically recall you and Mitchie telling me to be nice and give her a chance."

"Yeah, well apparently the novelty wore off because the old Tess is back with a vengeance." Caitlyn said bitterly.

"What did she do?" Shane asked.

"Pretty much attacked everything about me," Caitlyn replied. She turned away from Shane and looked back out over the lake.

Whatever Tess had said had obviously bothered Caitlyn, which surprised Shane. She was usually pretty good at letting things roll off her back. He knew that comforting people wasn't one of his strengths, but he couldn't exactly leave her there like this. Sighing, he sat down on the bench next to her.

"Don't let her get to you," he finally said. "She's just jealous and insecure."

"You don't even know what she said to me," Caitlyn retorted.

Shane scoffed. "I don't need to know what she said. Everything Tess does is because she's jealous and insecure. Doesn't take a genius to see that."

Caitlyn smirked. "Obviously not if you figured it out."

"Hey, be nice Gellar. I'm trying to help you out here."

"I know," she sighed. "And I appreciate it."

"Good. You should," he added, "because who knows when it will happen again." Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "So now that we've established that Tess is a conniving bitch can we go to the Jam thing?"

"I don't wanna," Caitlyn whined. "Besides, I've seen the list of who's performing, and we aren't missing anything."

"Yes we are," Shane said sounding offended. "We are missing gooey marshmallow goodness. I have it on good authority that there are s'mores."

When she didn't respond, he bumped her with his shoulder before adding, "Come on. If you sit over here sulking, Tess will think she won."

"Alright, fine," Caitlyn said pouting a little. She got up off the bench and followed Shane towards the stage. Before they reached the crowd, she put her hand on his arm. He felt like his skin was burning where her fingers gripped him. He looked down questioningly. "Thanks, Shane," she said sincerely.

He nodded, and she let go. He watched her head over and sit on a log next to Mitchie. His gaze then swept the crowd, finally settling on Tess, who bit her lip nervously when she noticed him glaring at her. Whatever she had done was bad enough to make her look guilty, which meant Shane needed to find out what it was and fix it. Cause as far as he was concerned, he was the only one allowed to make fun of his Caitlyn.


	4. Plan

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_A/N: This is #87 'Plan' from LaPaige's challenge list. Lots of thanks to Loved-Invention for beta-ing the chapter for me. Not much happens – it is sort of a transition moment._

Unfortunately neither Jason nor Nate knew what had happened between Tess and Caitlyn, which left Shane with no choice other than asking his ex-girlfriend, something he had hoped to avoid. They had actually been very nice to each other all summer, hanging out together, but only in a group. He just wasn't sure exactly how he felt about Caitlyn or what he was going to do about it, so he felt awkward talking to Mitchie about her.

But she was his best chance of finding out what he needed to know, so after breakfast the next morning, he waited and caught Mitchie alone.

"Hey, Mitch, can I talk to you for a second?" Shane asked. Mitchie bit her lip and hesitated before finally nodding. He took off towards an empty rehearsal hut and she followed behind him.

"What do you want Shane?" she asked nervously once they were inside. It took Shane a moment to realize that she probably thought he wanted to talk about them. He shuddered a little at the thought.

"What did Tess say to Caitlyn?" He blurted out in an attempt to clarify any misconceptions Mitchie might have about his motives.

"What?"

"Yesterday. Tess said something that upset Caitlyn, but she wouldn't tell me what it was." Shane said sounding frustrated. He began pacing as he thought back to Caitlyn sitting alone curled up on the bench.

"Maybe she doesn't want you to know." Mitchie answered quietly.

"Mitch, just tell me," Shane pleaded.

Mitchie looked closely at Shane – he looked genuinely upset, which confused her. She knew Caitlyn and Shane were friends, but all they ever did was bicker. "Why do you care so much?"

The conversation was heading in a direction Shane really didn't want to explore with his ex-girlfriend. He was going to have to be careful.

"I just do. Caitlyn is my friend and I care about her, okay? And I don't like that Tess hurt her," Shane replied tensely. "So can you just tell me what happened?"

Mitchie sighed. She wasn't sure why it was so important to Shane, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't going to give up until he got an answer. "Okay," she said.

"Thank you," Shane answered, sounding relieved.

"The weird thing is we have no idea what set Tess off. We were hanging out with you and the guys at the pier, and then on our way back to the cabin, Tess just came up and started attacking Cait." Mitchie said. Shane smiled a little as he remembered squabbling with Caitlyn before she and Mitchie had gone to get ready for Camp Fire Jam. She had been so frustrated with him when she couldn't get out of the headlock he had her in. For a brief moment he wondered if their horseplay had contributed to Tess' actions but shook off the thought.

"What did she say, Mitch?" Shane pressed.

"That Caitlyn wasn't a real musician – she was just a hack with a computer. That she looked like a robot when she danced," Mitchie took a deep breath before continuing, not noticing Shane's fists clenched at his side. "Then she said Caitlyn dressed like a clown and it was no wonder she hadn't been kissed because she looked like a twelve year old boy."

It was probably a good thing that Tess Tyler wasn't standing there at that moment because Shane would have hit her. It didn't matter that his parents had always told him you never hit a girl; she deserved it. What she had done was mean and petty, but what struck Shane most was how obviously false it all was. Caitlyn was talented and graceful and fun, and – all of a sudden the last part registered.

"Wait," Shane said in obvious confusion. "Hasn't Caitlyn had a boyfriend before?"

Mitchie shook her head.

"How is that possible?" Shane asked, obviously baffled. "Are the guys at her school idiots?"

Mitchie gave Shane a strange look. "Sort of; there were guys that liked her, but she wasn't interested in any of them. She just didn't feel like dating someone she didn't really like."

"Huh," Shane said.

"Yeah," Mitchie replied awkwardly. After a moment, she finally said. "There really isn't any way for you to fix it Shane. Just don't tell Caity I told you, okay?"

"I don't know about fixing it, but I will make Tess eat her words somehow." Mitchie noticed Shane's body tense and his jaw clench as he talked about Tess. "I just need a plan." Shane answered seriously.

"Shane, I don't think that's a good idea." Mitchie said cautiously.

"Look Mitchie, I'm getting Tess back for what she did to Caitlyn. If you're that worried about it, how about helping."

Mitchie looked thoughtful. Apparently there was more to Shane and Caitlyn's relationship than she had realized, but this wasn't the moment to focus on that. She knew that Shane meant it – he was going to try and punish Tess with or without her help. On one side, there was a good chance that this would back fire and get them in trouble, but if she helped, maybe she could minimize the damage. Then another idea came to her. "What if we get Nate to help us plan? He's usually pretty rational."

Shane nodded. "Let's go find him." He grabbed Mitchie's hand and began pulling her down the path towards his cabin. "And we need to think of a cool code name for our plan," he added as an afterthought.

Mitchie groaned.


	5. Choices and Style

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. This chapter is a tribute to the power of reviews – somehow what I was going to cover in a few sentences turned into almost 2,000 words because of the comments and questions left in reviews. So thank you very much to everyone who read and reviewed. This is another transition chapter. It is actually based on two prompts because I couldn't figure out which one to use - style #53 and choices #83._

"I'm not sure exactly what you expect us to do," Nate said. "Give Caitlyn a make-over?"

"No!" Shane blurted out. Mitchie and Nate both looked startled by the intensity of Shane's tone. Mitchie raised an eyebrow at her ex-boyfriend, but he quickly looked away.

Jason sounded confused when he spoke, "Why would we want Caitlyn to look different? She has her own style, and I think she looks cool."

Mitchie pulled her eyes away from Shane and nodded in agreement. "This isn't about changing Caitlyn, Nate; it's about proving that every single thing she said about Caitlyn is wrong."

Nate sighed, "Okay. Well, how about making a list of Tess' insults and coming up with a plan to negate each one. Will that work?"

"As long as you don't try and change her," Shane muttered, frowning. The thought of a girly, sparkly, Tessified Caitlyn made him feel sick. Again, Mitchie turned to stare at Shane. He wasn't sure what was going through her mind, but she was making him feel self-conscious. "So we should start with the music then," he said hoping to distract Mitchie.

"We all know she's talented, but hearing it from us won't mean anything to Tess," Mitchie replied.

For a moment all four of them sat quietly thinking.

"What about Brown?" Nate asked, finally breaking the silence. "We've all heard him rave about her mixing and producing. Do you think he would help us out?"

Shane grinned, "Great idea. Not only does he love Caitlyn, but he can't stand Tess and her mom. He wanted to bar her after the fiasco last summer, but Dee bought the whole 'new leaf' story and convinced him to let her come back."

"Great," Nate said slipping into his business mode, "then we will just need to talk to Brown-"

"I'll go get him," Jason interrupted, happily skipping out of the room.

Nate crinkled him forehead as he watched his friend skip along the path towards the administration building. "I was going to say later, but I guess now works too," he said to himself. Looking back to Mitchie and Shane, he continued. "I guess that dancing is next."

"She's in my hip hop class," Shane responded. "Should I say something?"

Mitchie knew that Shane's opinion would matter to Tess, but somehow that seemed too small – too much like what they were asking Brown to do. Just having all her teachers compliment her wasn't much of a plan. "I think we need to do something more than that," she said thoughtfully. "Something that will really make Tess mad."

Shane grinned, "I like the sound of that."

"Honestly, how is Tess at dancing?" Mitchie asked. "I can critique her singing, but dancing is not really my thing."

"She's okay," Shane said. "Nothing special. She doesn't have a style of her own and she's a little stiff."

"So if you had some sort of dance contest in class, she's not going to beat Caitlyn, right?"

"Hell, no!" Shane replied emphatically. "Sander or Barron might, but not Tess." He paused for a moment before adding, "Not unless she threatened or bribed everyone."

Nate chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past her, but if it was a surprise she wouldn't have time to engineer anything fishy."

"How about a seemingly spontaneous free style competition," Mitchie suggested. "And have the class vote."

"That's perfect," Shane said before taking a deep breath. He knew what he wanted to say next, but he wasn't sure how the other two would take it. He wasn't even sure how he felt about it. But the romance part was next, and he wanted to put his idea out before someone suggested something else. "I was thinking that maybe…" he hesitated a moment, "maybe I could serenade Caitlyn at one of the jams."

Mitchie stared wordlessly at Shane.

"I don't know, Shane," Nate responded. "You two argue all the time; people might think it's a joke. Why don't I do it."

Mitchie watched as Shane's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. She knew the signs; Shane was about to explode at an unsuspecting Nate. "Why? Cause you're the 'romantic' one?" Shane said venomously.

"What? No!" Nate was completely caught off-guard by the tone of Shane's voice. "I just don't think you and Caitlyn would be very believable. She might even think it was one of your pranks."

Shane's face started to get red, and Mitchie began to take a step towards the two bandmates to defuse the situation when the door opened.

"Hey guys, what's the big emergency?" Brown asked. He looked from the furious looking Shane to the confused and slightly defensive looking Nate. "Jason said you needed to talk to me."

Shane ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Nate and Mitch can explain it. I need some air." Without waiting for a response, he left the building, slamming the door behind him.

Brown looked concerned as he asked, "He's not backsliding is he?"

"No," Mitchie reassured Shane's uncle. "He and Nate were just having a… disagreement on strategy."

"Okay," Brown said still sounding worried. "But let me know if he keeps it up." When the two teens in front of him nodded, he added, "Now what's this about needing me for some big plan?"

Nate laughed, "Didn't Jason explain it?"

Brown shook his head. "He said it was top secret and could only be discussed in this hut."

Nate rolled his eyes and explained the situation to the camp director.

"So you want me to say something in class?" Brown asked. All of a sudden a wicked grin spread across his face. "I know - how about I drop that I was talking to Rex Riley and he asked when Caitlyn was graduating and could come work for him?"

Mitchie actually squealed. "Brown that's perfect!"

Nate looked at the old man with obvious approval. Rex Riley was one of the biggest names in the industry, and the previous summer he had offered Caitlyn a job after she finished high school. "Didn't Tess' ex try to get Riley to sign her?"

"And he wasn't interested," Brown added. "So we get the added bonus of rubbing Tess' failure in her face."

"Remind me never to piss you off," Nate said jokingly.

"I've been in this business a lot longer than you guys," Brown said. "I've picked up some things along the way. Now that my part has been worked out, I'll leave you to your planning."

As soon as Brown was out the door, Nate turned to Mitchie. "What was that with Shane?"

Mitchie sighed. "I don't know for sure, but I think he actually likes Caitlyn and wanted to sing for her."

Nate's mouth opened but no words came out. He finally shut it when Mitchie began to giggle. "I guess that explains a lot," Nate eventually said. "The plan, all the teasing, the piggyback ride, the fact that he looked like he wanted to punch me."

"Piggyback ride?"

"On the way here, Shane carried her across a bridge, but he 'forgot' to put her down," Nate explained.

"Oh," Mitchie replied, wondering why Caitlyn had never mentioned it to her.

"How are you going to feel if it turns out he does like her?" Nate asked Mitchie gently. The two had never really talked about her feelings for Shane. He knew Mitchie was the one to end it, but that didn't mean she still didn't care about him.

"I don't know," Mitchie said honestly. "I mean, I am totally over him. I'm dating a guy back home who I really like. But my best friend and ex just feels wrong. I don't want to hear her gushing about him or have to watch them kiss."

Nate wasn't sure exactly what to say to that, so he remained quiet. Mitchie's feelings were totally understandable, but he would hate for Shane and Caitlyn to miss a chance because Mitchie might be a little jealous, especially if she was already dating someone else.

"I know what you're thinking," Mitchie burst out, startling him. "I'm being selfish. If I don't have feelings for him, then I shouldn't get in the way. But she's my best friend."

Once again, Nate remained quiet. Mitchie began pacing. "But if she's really my best friend, then I should want her to be happy. I don't even know if she likes him, but she might. And she's never had a boyfriend. How selfish would I be to keep her from dating someone she cares about?"

The questions sounded rhetorical, so Nate just watched Mitchie process on her own. "And I know that she would never date him if I asked her not to. She's like that." She turned and looked at Nate before sighing. "I need to get over it and tell her it's okay, don't I?"

Nate felt like he had to respond this time, so he nodded. He was surprised when Mitchie threw her arms around him. "Thanks, Nate."

"Uhm… no problem."

The two broke apart at the sound of the door opening. They turned to see Shane walk in holding three bottles of water. "Here," he muttered, holding out two of the bottles. Nate and Mitchie exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Thanks. I'm going to go see if I can track Jason down," Nate said as he took a bottle from Shane. He hurried out the door, leaving Shane and Mitchie alone.

Mitchie cleared her throat. "Nate and I were talking. We think you should go ahead and sing," she said nervously. "If you really mean it," she added. "Otherwise, maybe it would be a good idea to let someone else do it."

"What do you mean, if I mean it?"

Mitchie decided to just come out and say it. "You like her, don't you?"

"Yes." His response was almost inaudible.

"So you should go ahead and tell her."

He looked at his ex-girlfriend in surprise. "Do you really mean that?"

She nodded. "But I honestly don't know how she feels about you. I can't tell you she's going to reciprocate and you'll live happily ever after. It's hard to tell with Caitlyn."

"I know," Shane said sounding miserable. "I fully expect to be shot down, but that's not the point. The point is to let her and Tess know that someone wants her just how she is."

"Wait?" Mitchie said sounding confused. "You think she's going to say no? And you're still planning on getting up in front of the entire camp to tell her how you feel?"

"Even if by some chance she likes me, she won't date me. She'll see it as a choice between you and me, and I won't win that one. She's already made that clear?"

"What do you mean?"

"At the beginning of the summer, before I even realized I liked her, I asked if she was going to hang out with me," he explained. "And she told me only if you were okay with it."

Mitchie stood thinking about what Shane had said. "Then that's the solution."

"I don't get it."

"We'll have to figure out a way so that she knows I'm okay with it. I'll get up and introduce the song. It will let her know that I was in on the planning and that I support you. Plus, there is the added bonus that she will know it is not a joke because I wouldn't do that to her."

Shane looked searchingly at the girl in front of him. "Are you sure?"

"I want Caitlyn to be happy," Mitchie said sincerely. "And I think you might be able to do that."


	6. Taste

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or "Day and Night"._

_A/N: So the version of the song I envision Shane singing is the U2 cover of the Cole Porter song from Red Hot+Blue: A Cole Porter Tribute Album. There may or may not be another chapter. I haven't decided yet. And the prompt is #76 "taste". Shane and Caitlyn are missing their usual banter, but hopefully that fits the moment._

The plan was going even better than they had expected. Brown's casual announcement in class had annoyed Tess as planned; Mitchie had wished she could have recorded the entire thing, but that would have exposed them. The news that Rex Riley wanted Caitlyn to work for him had spread like wildfire, with the added, unforeseen bonus that Caitlyn had been pleased that the executive still remembered her. And while Caitlyn hadn't actually won the contest, she had come in a close second to Barron. And Tess had not made it past the initial round.

Now all that was left was the song. They had to wait a few days for a scheduled Jam; that and they had to learn a new song. Shane didn't want to sing a Connect Three song because Caitlyn already knew the back-story behind all their stuff. And there wasn't time to write and learn an original song at this point. So it was going to have to be a cover. The problem was that Shane didn't want it to be some stupid, stereotypical love song – he wanted it to be unique. Something Caitlyn would appreciate. In the end, Mitchie came up with the idea that saved them – she stole Caitlyn's ipod. As they scrolled through the playlist, Shane was surprised by Caitlyn's eclectic taste – she had classic rock, pop, rap, classical, country, jazz, techno, and even some opera. He finally stopped at an unfamiliar title from her "favorites" playlist. When he pushed play, he began to smile. This was the song. All he had to do was make a few minor adjustments and it would be perfect.

When the day of the jam arrived, Shane was a wreck. As he stood off to the right of the stage, listening to the final act, he felt like he might throw up. He hadn't had stage fright like this in years. Jason gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder as Mitchie walked onto the stage.

Mitchie smiled and waved to the audience, "Hi everyone. We have a special surprise for you tonight. But first, can I have my best friend, Caitlyn Gellar join me up here?"

Caitlyn gave Mitchie a questioning look but got up from her seat in the front and headed up to the stage. Jason followed her with a chair, which he set up on the left front corner of the stage.

Mitchie gestured for Caitlyn to sit down before speaking again. "There is someone who wanted to sing a song to Caitlyn tonight to let her know how special he thought she was. He asked me to help, and I was more than happy to be a part of this." She turned to speak directly to her friend. "I hope you enjoy this, Caity." Then turning back to the audience, she beamed as she announced, "Please welcome Shane Gray."

Caitlyn gasp, her eyes wide as Shane walked across the stage and smiled nervously at her. He could hear the audience whispering in surprise. He clutched his microphone so tightly his knuckles were white. As he looked out into the audience, he was pleased to see Tess pouting.

"Hi," Shane said to the audience. "I hope you won't mind, but like Mitchie said, I wanted to sing a song tonight. Is that okay?" The campers roared their approval. The sound gave Shane a boost of confidence. Grinning, he continued. "Good to know." Then he turned and looked at a still-shocked Caitlyn. "Cait, you are the most amazing girl I've ever met. You know I'm not very good at talking about my feelings, but hopefully you'll understand what I mean."

At his signal, Nate, Jason and Andy began playing. Caitlyn's hand went to her mouth as she realized what song he was planning on singing to her. Mitchie kept her eyes on her best friend, hoping to see a sign that this plan was going to have a happy ending. She saw Caitlyn blush when Shane began to sing the chorus directly to her.

_Night and day, you are the one  
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun  
Whether near to me, or far  
It's no matter darling where you are  
I think of you  
Day and night, night and day_

On stage, Shane tried to concentrate on the song and not worry about what Caitlyn was thinking or feeling. He took it as a good sign that she hadn't jumped off the stage and fled as soon as she realized what was happening. As the song ended and the audience stood cheering, he handed his microphone to Nate and made his way across the stage to Caitlyn. She stood up as he approached, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot.

"Hi."

"Hi," she whispered. They stood staring at each other, neither of them noticing that the crowd had gone silent. Shane could see Caitlyn struggling with what to do next. He tensed a little, waiting for some insult or snarky comment, but he was pleasantly surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and said, "Thank you."

He let out the breath he had been holding and held her tightly. He chuckled, "You're welcome."

With her face still buried in his shoulder, he heard her ask. "Did you mean it?"

"Yes," he said sincerely. "Is that okay?"

This time it was her turn to laugh. "Yeah, it's more than okay. It's unbelievably amazing. And Mitchie's really okay with this?"

"I promise," Shane said. He knew there was a lot more for them to talk about, but right now there was something else he really wanted to do. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Caity, can I kiss you right now?"

She pulled away and looked up into his eyes before nodding. He leaned down and softly kissed her.

He didn't hear the crowd roar. He didn't notice Mitchie and Nate high five or Tess stomp off in disgust. All he could focus on was Caitlyn – the feeling of her curls between his fingers, her hands gripping his shirt, and her soft lips on his.

And she tasted like cherries.


	7. Poetry

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Byron's "She Walks in Beauty."_

_A/N: So here is the final chapter. And we are back to the original prompt – poetry. MissNata13 offered me a third chapter of her Rock Star story (which is a sweet Smitchie if you haven't read it yet) in exchange for another chapter. Of course, I'm a pushover and would have written it for her anyway, but I'm excited to see what she comes up with. _

As Shane and Caitlyn broke apart, he was vaguely aware of flashing in the background. He looked up to see cameras and cell phones snapping away.

"Crap," he muttered, turning his body to shelter Caitlyn from the audience.

"What?" Caitlyn asked with concern. She wasn't sure how she could have managed to do something wrong already.

"Apparently lots of campers bring their cameras to Jams," Shane said wryly.

Caitlyn chuckled, "So my first kiss…"

Shane nodded, "Is probably on its way to Perez right now. I'm so sorry, Cait."

She shrugged. "Who knew my first kiss would be so news worthy," she joked. "But seriously, it didn't occur to you this might be an issue?"

"Kissing you wasn't part of the original plan," Shane admitted.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, but before she could say anything else, Brown began to speak. "Alright, everyone calm down. I need you all to sit down for a few announcements."

As the campers began settling down, Nate walked over to the new couple. "Brown said he'd keep them here for awhile, so you can escape. He suggested a classroom if you're looking for a little privacy."

Shane smiled at his friend, "Thanks, man."

He held onto Caitlyn's hand and led her across the stage and into the night, away from all the curious spectators. The remained quiet until they reached the safety of the dance hut.

"So, Mr. Gray, what exactly did you think was going to happen back there?" Caitlyn asked, breaking the silence. "I mean, you had to have some sort of plan."

Shane shrugged, "I figured I'd sing you a song, and you'd tease me. That's how we work, right?"

Caitlyn looked confused, "Wait? You thought I was going to make fun of you?" Shane nodded. "Then why on earth did you do it?"

"Cause I wanted you to know how I felt."

"You didn't need to risk public humiliation to do that," Caitlyn pointed out. "Most normal people just ask a girl out on a date or send her flowers." And then Shane saw a look of realization cross her face. "Mitchie told you what Tess said, didn't she?"

Shane looked sheepish as he answered, "I couldn't let her get away with treating you like that."

Caitlyn stood on her toes and kissed him. She couldn't believe he had risked all of that just to help her out. She was surprised when he broke the kiss.

"You do like me back, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh. Didn't we cover that already?"

"Not really. You said it was okay for me to like you. You never said what you thought about me." Caitlyn could see a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

"What do I think about Shane Gray?" Caitlyn said with a teasing lilt to her voice. Shane groaned, knowing that she was going to mess with him before answering. But that was his Caity, and he wouldn't change her for anything. Assuming she was going to get around to admitting she liked him that is.

"You tease me all the time, which is quite annoying. You spend way too much time on your hair. And you don't like poetry," Caitlyn smirked at him before placing one hand gently on his cheek. "But you're always there for me when I need you, and you won't let anyone else make fun of me." Shane leaned into her hand. "And I have to admit that even though you spend way too much time primping, the final results are quite spectacular." Now it was Shane's turn to smirk. "And I can't stop thinking about you, so I've decided I can live with the poetry thing. I guess it's safe to say I like you back."

Shane hugged Caitlyn tightly before saying, "I actually think poetry is growing on me."

"Barron's dirty limericks don't count," Caitlyn observed wryly.

Shane chuckled, "No really. I think poetry could be very useful." Before Caitlyn could ask what he meant, he leaned in and whispered huskily. "She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes."

Caitlyn was a little breathless when she replied, "Nice. I didn't know you liked Byron."

Shane shrugged. "I got tired of never knowing what you were talking about, so I had my mom send me an anthology."

And he was rewarded by another kiss.


End file.
